Cessna tail-cone reinforcement angle splice, installation kit, and method for installation thereof

ABSTRACT

A tail-cone reinforcement angle of a Cessna 180-185 series aircraft is repaired by the removal of an aft most section of that tail-cone reinforcement angle and its replacement with an elongated splice body. The elongated splice body is attached to the remainder of the tail-cone reinforcement angle and to the tail-cone portion of the fuselage of the aircraft. The aft section of the original tail-cone reinforcement angle is subject to the development and propagation of cracks in the area of the rear pivot shaft receiving bore, which cracks render the aircraft unfit for use. The invention includes the provision of a suitable elongated splice body, a method for its installation, and a tool kit which is usable in accomplishing the removal and replacement of the aft section of the tail-cone reinforcement angle.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This U.S. utility patent application claims the benefit of the filingdate of prior U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/875,542,entitled CESSNA TAIL-CONE REINFORCEMENT, and filed on Jul. 18, 2019, thedisclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a tail-cone reinforcement anglesplice assembly; to an installation kit for use in the removal andreplacement of the original tail-cone reinforcement angle aft portionand to a method for accomplishing the removal and replacement of thatoriginal tail-cone reinforcement angle aft portion specifically for usein Cessna aircraft. The tail-cone reinforcement splice, in accordancewith the present invention, is usable to replace an originalreinforcement angle or original angles on one or both sides of anaircraft's tail cone. The original tail-cone reinforcement angles havebeen determined to be subject to failure, typically due to cracking andbreaking of the original tail-cone replacement angles in areas ofpotentially high stress.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Cessna 180, 182 and 185 series aircraft have been, and continue to bevery popular single engine aircraft that have found numerous usages inprivate and commercial aviation. While these aircraft are no longercurrently manufactured, there are still well over seven thousand ofthese light, durable and dependable aircraft that are registered withthe Federal Aviation Administration and that are currently in use. Someof these aircraft are in commercial use while others are the prizepossessions of their respective owners, who lavish great care and largesums of money on their preservation, upkeep and usage.

A chronic problem exists in virtually all of these aircraft in theirtail-cone reinforcement angle components. This problem exists in the aftarea of the tail-cone reinforcement angle of such aircraft andspecifically in the aft portions of such tail-cone reinforcement angles,located on either side of the tail-cone, in the interior of the aircraftfuselage and in the area of the location of the rear stabilizer pivotshaft.

As is well known to the owners and operators of these series ofaircraft, a so-called “hockey stick” reinforcement angle extendslongitudinally along each interior side of the fuselage of the aircraftand serves to reinforce that aft section of the fuselage andspecifically serves to prevent that aft section of the fuselage fromdeflecting inwardly or “oil canning” when lateral forces are applied tothe outer rear section of the fuselage. These “hockey sticks” aresecured in place along the aft section of each side of the aircraftfuselage by no less than 40 rivets. The aft section or “blade” of eachsuch “hockey stick” constitutes the problematic aft section of each suchtail-cone reinforcement angle. This aft section of the reinforcementangle, on each side of the tail cone of the aircraft, includes a throughbore or aperture which will receive a pivot shaft of the horizontalstabilizer that is a component of the aircraft's tail assembly.

It had been determined that over time, these tail-cone reinforcementangles fail, under stress, by cracking in the area of the bore. Theresultant cracks will propagate along the tail-cone reinforcement angle,in the area of the aft portion thereof, and specifically in the area ofthe bore or aperture that receives the stabilizer horizontal pivotshaft. If left unrepaired, these cracks will severely impact theattachment of the rear horizontal stabilizer and elevator assemblies tothe tail cone of the aircraft. If one of these components fails tooperate properly, the resultant loss of control of the aircraft could becatastrophic. The tail-cone reinforcement angle in the affected Cessnaaircraft tends to crack at the rear stabilizer pivot shaft attachmentpoint. Virtually all such cracks are formed at the same location in eachsuch tail-cone reinforcement angle. The conventional solution to thisproblem, once it has been detected in an affected aircraft, has been theremoval and replacement of the affected tail-cone reinforcement angle inthe one or both affected sides of the fuselage of an affected aircraft.Such removal and replacement requires the drilling out and removal ofapproximately forty rivets on either side of the aircraft's fuselage.Once these rivets have been removed, the entire tail cone reinforcementangle is then removed from the aircraft and is replaced with anidentical replacement assembly. That replacement requires thereinstallation of the approximately forty rivets that have previouslybeen removed.

Such a replacement process does not resolve the underlying problem, theinherent failure of the tail-cone reinforcement angles in the areas ofthe rear stabilizer pivot shaft. Replacement of a failed part with areplacement part that is also subject to the same issues of failure, isan unsatisfactory solution to the problem of such tail-conereinforcement angles failures. The prior art solutions to the problemhave not provided a satisfactory, reliable, long term solution to theproblem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a tail-cone reinforcement anglesplice assembly which is particularly suited for use with Cessna 180 andrelated series aircraft. The present invention is also directed to aninstallation kit which facilitates and expedites the replacement of sucha tail-cone replacement angle splice. In addition, the subject inventionis further directed to a method which accomplished the replacement of adefective aft section of a tail-cone reinforcement angle or a so-called“hockey stick” with a reinforcement angle splice part that preventsrecurrence of the failures of the original and prior replacementtail-cone reinforcement angles.

In accordance with the present invention, only the portion of thetail-cone reinforcement angle, which is subject to failure, is replaced.A substantial portion of the original tail-cone reinforcement angleremains in place. Only the defective portion of that tail-conereinforcement angle is cut-off from the remainder of the tail-conereinforcement angle, which remains in place. A new tail-conereinforcement angle splice is attached to the remaining original portionof the tail-cone reinforcement angle and is secured in place.

The tail-cone reinforcement angle splice, in accordance with the presentinvention, is much stronger and more durable than the original aftportion of the tail-cone reinforcement angle which it replaces. Thereplacement tail-cone reinforcement angle splice includes the afthorizontal stabilizer pivot bore, which has been the location of thepropagating cracks that have been prone to occur in the originaltail-cone reinforcement angle stabilizer attachment points. Theinstallation of the tail-cone reinforcement angle splice, in accordancewith the present invention, has resulted in a substantial reduction inthe labor involved in the repair and replacement of the cracked portionof the tail cone reinforcement angle, as compared to the prior procedurewhich had involved the removal and replacement of the entire tail-conereinforcement angle.

As alluded to previously, the replacement of the entire tail-conereinforcement angle of a Cessna 180 series aircraft, which is typicallyreferred to as the “hockey stick”, because of its distinctive shape, hadrequired the drilling out and replacement of approximately forty rivetson either or both sides of the rear fuselage of an affected aircraft.Many of these aircraft are owned by non-commercial pilots who lavishtime and attention, not to mention substantial amounts of money, on thecare, upkeep and appearance of their aircraft. The drilling out andremoval of forty or more rivets on either or both sides of the rearfuselage of such an aircraft, which has been required to remove acomplete tail-cone reinforcement angle, effectively destroys the paintthat has been applied to that section of the aircraft. Leaving thereplacement rivet heads unpainted, or touching up those rivet heads withtouch-up paint may be acceptable for some commercial aircraft. However,the majority of owners of such aircraft will require that their aircraftbe completely repainted after the completion of the required repairs.

In accordance with the present invention, only the far aft portion ofthe tail-cone reinforcement angle is removed. That removed portion isreplaced with a tail-cone reinforcement angle splice. Such a replacementof only the failed or suspect aft portion of the tail-cone reinforcementangle or angles results in far less cosmetic damage to the aircraft. Theaft stabilizer attachment pivot hole portion of the reinforcement angleis the only portion of that reinforcement angle that is cut out andreplaced. Such a replacement required the drilling out and replacementof far fewer rivets that would be required if the entire tail-conereinforcement angle were to be replaced.

The tail-cone reinforcement angle splice, in accordance with the presentinvention, includes the aft stabilizer pivot shaft receiving boreportion of the tail-cone reinforcement angle. The removal andreplacement of only the aft portion of the tail-cone replacement angle,using the splice, in accordance with the present invention, overcomesthe serious cosmetic difficulties encountered by the prior procedure oftotal replacement of the tail-cone reinforcement angle on each side ofthe rear fuselage of the affected aircraft. The cosmetics of therepaired aircraft are not affected. The time and expense required forthe replacement is substantially reduced. The resultant replacement isstronger and more durable than the original aft portion of the tail-conereplacement angle which it replaces.

The present invention provides a reinforcement splice part, a kit whichfacilitates the replacement of the splice, and a method for such areinforcement splice installation. The present invention constitutes asubstantial advance in the art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A full and complete understanding of a Cessna tail-cone reinforcementangle splice, an installation kit therefor, and a method of installationmay be had by referring to the detailed description of the preferredembodiment, as set forth hereinafter, and as seen in the accompanyingdrawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic depiction of a Cessna series 180-185 seriesaircraft with which the pertinent invention is intended for use;

FIG. 2 is a schematic depiction of a tail-cone area of the Cessna180-185 series aircraft depicted in FIG. 1, and with the horizontalstabilizer, elevator, tail, tail wheel and stinger removed;

FIG. 3 is a photograph of an aft portion of a tail-cone reinforcementangle showing a typical failure in the horizontal stabilizer pivot shaftreceiving bore of tail-cone reinforcement angle;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a left side tail-cone reinforcementangle including a left side tail-cone reinforcement angle splice, inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a side elevation view of an aft portion of the left sidetail-cone reinforcement angle, encircled at A in FIG. 4, with thetail-cone reinforcement angle splice, in accordance with the presentinvention, in place;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a left side tail-cone reinforcementangle splice prior to installation;

FIG. 7 is a top-plan view of the reinforcement angle splice depicted inFIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is an aft end view of the reinforcement angle splice depicted inFIGS. 6 and 7 and taken from the right as seen in FIG. 6 and from theleft as seen in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a view of an aft portion of the tail cone and showing theremoval of four rivets;

FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 9 with the tail-cone reinforcementangle spice installed and secured in place;

FIG. 11 is a view of the aft section of the tail cone and showing theforming of the horizontal stabilizer shaft receiving bore in thetail-cone reinforcement angle splice;

FIG. 12 is a view of the aft section of the tail cone and showing thecompleted horizontal stabilizer pivot shaft receiving bore formed in thetail-cone reinforcement angle splice; and

FIG. 13 is a description in the kit, in accordance with the presentinvention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring initially to FIG. 1 of the patent drawings filed in thesubject U.S. patent application, there may be seen, generally at 20, atypical Cessna 180-185 series aircraft with which the tail-conereinforcement angle splice, in accordance with the present invention,finds particular usage. Aircraft 20, as is well known to one familiarwith such aircraft, includes a fuselage, generally at 22, forward uppermounted wings 24, an engine and propeller assembly 26, a cockpit 28 anda rear elevator and stabilizer assembly generally at 30. The rearelevator and stabilizer assembly generally at 30, is attached to a rearportion of the fuselage 22, in an area that fuselage known as thetail-cone 32, which tail-cone area 32 is seen somewhat schematically inFIG. 2. The rear stabilizer and elevator assembly, generally at 30,includes a pivotally mounted horizontal stabilizer 34 and a pair ofelevators 36. The horizontal stabilizer 34 is attached to the tail-cone,generally at 32, in an aft portion 38 of the tail cone 32. Theattachment of the horizontal stabilizer 34 is accomplished by providingpivot shafts which are located in the trailing portion of the horizontalstabilizer 34, which pivot shafts are well known, are not illustrated,and which form no part of the present invention. The horizontalstabilizer is attached to the tail-cone aft portion 38, of theaircraft's fuselage 22, through the provision of horizontal stabilizerpivot shaft receiving apertures or bores 40 which are formed in the aftor rear portion 38 of the tail-cone portion 32 of the aircraft'sfuselage 22. The mounting of the horizontal stabilizer pivot shaftsthese apertures or bores 40 is well known to those of skill in the artand again forms no portion of the present invention.

As is also well known to those familiar with the Cessna 180-185 seriesaircraft, the rear fuselages of such aircraft are typically reinforcedby tail-cone reinforcement angles, often referred to as “hockey sticks”because of their shape, which somewhat resemble a typical hockey stick.These tail-cone reinforcement angles are attached to interior right andleft portions of the rear section of the aircraft's fuselage. Thesetail-cone reinforcement angles are intended to provide structuralrigidity to the aircraft's fuselage 22 and are intended to preventinward deflection of that portion of the fuselage if lateral exteriorpressure were to be applied to the fuselage, typically as a result ofphysical pressure being applied to the fuselage while the plane is beinghandling on the ground. A typical tail-cone reinforcement angle isdepicted generally at 50 in FIGS. 4 and 5.

A rear “blade” portion 42 of each such tail-cone reinforcement angle 50,as seen at 42 in FIG. 3, is provided with a horizontal stabilizer pivotshaft receiving bore, indicated at 44, again in FIG. 3. Bore 44 isaligned with the horizontal stabilizer pivot shaft receiving apertures40 in the aft portion 38 of the tail cone 32. These tail cone fuselageapertures 40 and their aligned tail-cone reinforcement angle blade bores44 are aligned and form the mounting points for the horizontalstabilizer 34, as is known in the art.

As is also known in the art, the tail-cone stabilizer angles which wereoriginally installed in the aircraft, during construction of each suchaircraft, have been known to develop cracks. A typical crack is depictedat 46 in FIG. 3. These cracks are formed, or will form, in virtuallyevery Cessna aircraft of the affected series. In the past, theprescribed treatment or repair was to remove the complete tail-conereinforcement angle or angles of the affected side or sides of theaircraft, and to replace those removed elements with new, tail-conereinforcement angles. That solution is not an effective one because isreplaces a failed structural component with a replacement component thatis subject to the same failure as was the original part which isreplaced.

Turning now to FIGS. 4 and 5, there may be seen generally at 50, atail-cone reinforcement angle modified, in its rear, “blade” or aftportion 42, with a tail cone reinforcement angle splice, generally at54, in accordance with the present invention. In the followingdiscussion, the tail-cone reinforcement angle and its splice 54, will bedescribed in the context of an assembly that is installed on the left orport side of the fuselage 22 of the aircraft. It will be understood thata similar tail-cone reinforcement angle assembly, with its associatedangle splice, is also installable on the right or starboard side of theaircraft's fuselage and is also within the scope of the presentinvention. The two tail-cone reinforcement angles, with their attachedangle splices, are mirror images of each other.

Referring again to FIGS. 4 and 5, the tail-cone replacement anglegenerally at 50, is constituted by an elongated structural member 56,formed typically of high strength aluminum and having a generallyvertical web portion 58 and an inwardly directed upper flange portion60. The web 58 and flange 60 are typically situated at generally 90degrees to each other for rigidity. The web is secured, typically byriveting, to the interior of the rear portion of the aircraft's fuselage22. In the original tail-cone reinforcement angle, the blade portion 42included the horizontal stabilizer aft pivot shaft receiving bore 44, asdepicted in FIG. 3. In the tail-cone reinforcement angle, including theangle splice 54, in accordance with the present invention, as will bediscussed subsequently, the aft portion of the rear, blade portion 42 ofthe original equipment tail-cone reinforcement angle has been cut-offand the angle splice 54, in accordance with the present invention, hasbeen substituted therefor.

Referring now to FIG. 6-8, there may be seen in greater detail a leftside tail-cone reinforcement angle splice generally at 54, in accordancewith the present invention. As noted above, a right side tail-conereinforcement angle splice is essentially the same, in construction,installation and function as the left side splice 54 depicted in FIG.6-8. The right and left splices 54 are different only in that they aremirror images of each other.

Splice 54, as depicted in FIG. 6, is configured generally as anelongated rectangular member which is typically fabricated from a highstrength aluminum. Splice 54 includes a forward, overlap section 62, acentral, transition section 64 and an aft, stabilizer rear pivot holereceiving section 66. The terms “forward”, “central” and “aft” refer tothe orientation of the splice in the fuselage of the aircraft, once thesplice has been attached to the blade portion 42 of the tail-conereinforcement angle, as seen, for example, in FIGS. 4 and 5.

The forward or overlap section 62 of the splice 54 has a plurality ofspaced rivet receiving holes 68. These holes 68 will align withcooperatively spaced rivet receiving holes 70 in the web 58 of the bladeportion of the tail-cone reinforcement angle 50. As may be seen in FIGS.6 and 7, the forward, overlap section 62 of the splice 54 has athickness, transverse to its length, which is reduced, in comparison toa thickness of the central, transition section 64. This is to allow theaft portion of the web 58 of the blade 42 of the tail-cone reinforcementangle 50, to overlie the forward, overlap section 62 of the splice 54and to abut, at its aft-most edge 72, with a cooperating shoulderportion 74 of the central, transition section 64 of the splice 54. Itwill be understood, in the context of this discussion, that the aft orblade portion 42 of the original tail-cone reinforcement angle 50, hasbeen removed. This removal is done to separate, from the originaltail-cone reinforcement angle, its defective portion thereof, whichdefective portion is depicted in FIG. 3.

The central, transition section 64 of the splice 54 includes anintermediate step section 76, as can be seen in FIG. 6. The intermediatestep portion 76 cooperates with the flange portion 60 of the bladeportion 42 of the tail-cone reinforcement angle 50 to form a generallysmooth upper planar surface, when the splice 54 has been joined to therear blade 42 of the tail-cone reinforcement angle 50.

The horizontal stabilizer rear pivot hole receiving section 66 of thesplice 54 is supplied, for its attachment to the blade 42 of thetail-cone reinforcement angle 50, without a horizontal stabilizer pivotshaft receiving bore, such as the one depicted at 44 in FIG. 3. Thishole or bore 44 will be drilled into the aft section 66 of the splice54, to align it with the corresponding aperture 40 in the tail-cone 44in the aircraft's fuselage, once the splice 54 has been riveted andbolted in place, as will be discussed subsequently.

The aft section 66 of the splice 54 is generally planar, as may be seenin FIGS. 6 and 7. As may be seen particularly in FIG. 8, this aftsection 66 is angled inwardly at approximately 2.44 degrees from itslower edge 78 to its upper edge 80. This slight inward angle is toaccommodate the slight inward curve of the tail-cone section of theaircraft fuselage in the area of the horizontal stabilizer rear pivotshaft receiving aperture 40.

The installation process and method for accomplishing the repair of theoriginally installed tail-cone reinforcement angle, through the removalof the aft portion of the original blade thereof and by its replacementwith the splice, in accordance with the present invention, will now bediscussed. Again, this discussion will be directed to the repair andrefurbishment and reinstallation of a left side tail-cone reinforcementangle. It is again understood that this discussion is equally applicableto the repair and reinstallation of a right side tail-cone reinforcementangle. The only difference is that, as discussed previously, the rightside assembly is the mirror image of the left side assembly.

Once the tail of the Cessna 180-185 series aircraft has beendisassembled, to render the tail-cone assembly as it is depicted in FIG.2, the installation process may commence. The initial step is to use asuitable reamer, which is supplied in a kit that is provided by themanufacturer of the subject invention, and which is supplied togetherwith, and including the subject tail-cone reinforcement angle splice, aswill be discussed subsequently, to ream out both the horizontalstabilizer rear pivot aperture 40 in the tail cone of the fuselage andthe underlying bore 44 in the original far aft portion of the nowdefective tail-cone reinforcement angle. Once this has beenaccomplished, four aft flush rivets 82, in the tail cone portion 32 ofthe fuselage 22 and in the underlying blade portion 42 of the tail-conereinforcement angle, are drilled out. This is depicted in FIG. 9 of thedrawings accompanying the application. The holes in the web of the bladeportion of the tail-cone reinforcement angle, which result from thedrilling out of these four flush rivets 82, will align with the rivetreceiving holes 68 in the forward or overlap section 62 of the splice54.

In the next step of the repair and reconstruction process, two universalhead rivets 84, as is also seen in FIG. 9, will be drilled out. This isaccomplished using number 40 and number 30 drill bits that are includedin the kit which is supplied by the manufacturer and which accompaniesthe splice 54. These number 40 and number 30 drill bits were alsopreviously used in the removal of the four flush rivets 82. The reamingof the pivot aperture 40 and bore 44, together with the removal of thefour flush head rivets 82 and the two universal head rivets 44, willfree the defective portion of the blade section of the originaltail-cone reinforcement angle from the tail cone portion of the fuselageof the aircraft.

Next, the defective portion of the original tail-cone reinforcementangle 50 is cut off from the reminder of the tail-cone reinforcementangle. This is best accomplished using a hack saw blade, including inthe manufacturer supplied kit, taking care to cut the reinforcementangle adjacent the aft edge 72 of the upper flange 60 of the originaltail-cone reinforcement angle 50. Once this after-most portion of theoriginal tail-cone reinforcement angle has been removed, which removedportion is depicted in FIG. 3 of the drawings, the installation of thereplacement tail-cone reinforcement angle splice 54 can be initiated.

The tail-cone reinforcement angle splice 54 is placed inside thetail-cone portion 32 of the fuselage 22 of the aircraft and its severalrivet receiving holes 68 aligned with the corresponding holes in theflange portion 58 of the rear, blade section 42 of the tail-conereinforcement angle which was formed by the drilling out of the fourflush head rivets 82. Suitable temporary fasteners such as cleco-typetemporary fasteners are used to join the forward or overlap portion 62of the splice 54 to the rear, aft-most section of the remaining rear,blade portion 42 of the tail-cone reinforcement angle. A suitable clampcan then be applied to the aft, stabilizer rear pivot hole receivingsection 66 of the splice 54. Once that has been done, and the splice 54is now temporarily secured to the tail-cone fuselage, at its aft end 66,and to the blade of the tail-cone reinforcement angle 50, at thesplice's forward end 62, an aft replacement splice hole 86 can bedrilled in the far aft portion of the aft section 66 of the splice 54,as seen in FIG. 6. While the splice 54 is still temporarily clamped andcleco-ed in place, the aft section 66 of the splice 54 is then drilledto form a suitable rear stabilizer pivot shaft receiving bore 90. Thisis accomplished by initially drilling a pilot hole in the aft mostsection of the splice using a drill guide fixture 92, as seen in FIG.11. The drill guide fixture 92 is also included in the kit that issupplied by the manufacturer. Once the pilot hole has been drilled, asuitable quarter inch diameter reamer, which is included in themanufacturer-supplied kit, is used to form the horizontal stabilizerrear pivot shaft receiving hole 90 in the aft section of the splice 54.

Referring back to FIG. 10, once all the holes and bores have been reamedand drilled, four rivets 94 and two bolts 96 are installed. The finishedinstallation of the tail-cone reinforcement angle splice, in accordancewith the present invention, is depicted in FIG. 12. The aircraft's tailassembly can then be reassembled in accordance with the applicableCessna service/maintenance manuals. The horizontal stabilizer andelevator can be reinstalled, using the hardware that was initiallyremoved during a disassembly process of the aircraft. The appropriateactuating mechanisms and control cables can then be re-attached. Once ithas been determined that the elevator, rudder and elevator trim are allworking freely and properly, the aircraft is ready to be returned tooperational status.

The repair of the tail-cone reinforcement angle, in accordance with thepresent invention, is accomplished using parts and tools which aresupplied by the manufacturer in the form of a kit. The contents of sucha kit are set forth in the table which is presented as FIG. 13. It isthe intent of the manufacturer that all necessary parts and tools, whichmay be required for the successful repair of the Cessna 180-185 seriesaircraft tail-cone reinforcement angle, will be provided in such a kit.It will however be understood that the kit does not include typicalrepair facility equipment such as a rivet gun, temporary fasteners, apower operated drill and the like. It is assumed that a competentaircraft repair facility will have such equipment.

While a preferred embodiment of a Cessna tail-cone reinforcement anglesplice, an installation kit for use therewith, and a method forinstallation of such a splice, in accordance with the present invention,have been set forth fully and completely herein above, it will beapparent to one of skill in the art that various changes could be madethereto, without departing from the true spirit and scope of the subjectinvention, which is accordingly to be limited only by the scope of theappended claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A tail-cone reinforcement angle spliceconfigured for use with a tail-cone reinforcement angle and to replace adefective aft section of a rear blade portion of the tail-conereinforcement angle for a tail cone section of a fuselage of a Cessna180-185 series aircraft, the tail-cone reinforcement angle splicecomprising: an elongated splice body having a plurality of splice bodysections; a forward, overlap section of the elongated splice body andforming a first one of the plurality of elongated splice body sections,the forward, overlap section having a first thickness in a directiontransverse to a length of the elongated splice body and being configuredfor overlapping attachment to the rear blade portion of the tail-conereinforcement angle whose defective aft section has been removed; acentral, transition section of the elongated splice body and forming asecond one of the plurality of splice body sections and having a secondthickness in the direction transverse to the length of the elongatedsplice body; and an aft, stabilizer pivot shaft receiving section of theelongated splice body and forming a third one of the plurality of splicebody sections and configured to receive a stabilizer pivot shaftreceiving bore, the aft, stabilizer pivot shaft receiving section beinginclined at an acute angle, with respect to the first and secondsections of the elongated splice body, to accommodate an inward curve ofthe tail-cone section of the aircraft fuselage.
 2. The tail-conereinforcement angle splice of claim 1 wherein the elongated splice bodyis generally rectangular.
 3. The tail-cone reinforcement angle splice ofclaim 1 wherein the central, transition section of the elongated splicebody includes at least first and second transition section rivet andbolt receiving holes.
 4. The tail-cone reinforcement angle splice ofclaim 1 wherein the elongated splice body is aluminum.
 5. The tail-conereinforcement angel splice of claim 1 wherein the first thickness andthe second thickness are different from each other.
 6. The tail-conereinforcement angle splice of claim 1 wherein the aft, stabilizer pivotshaft receiving section has a third thickness in the directiontransverse to the length of the elongated spice body and wherein thethird thickness is the same as the first thickness.
 7. The tail-conereinforcement angle splice of claim 1 wherein the elongated splice bodyis configured to receive a plurality of rivet and bolt receiving bores.8. The tail-cone reinforcement angle splice of claim 7 wherein at leastthree of the rivet and bolt receiving bores are located in the forward,overlap section of the elongated splice body.
 9. The tail-conereinforcement angle splice of claim 1 wherein the central, transitionsection of the elongated splice body includes an upper surface includingan intermediate step.
 10. The tail-cone reinforcement angle splice ofclaim 9 wherein the intermediate step forms a transition between theforward, overlap section of the elongated splice body and the central,transition section of the elongated splice body.